I had decided this Thanksgiving that I wanted to try and make a cheesecake. I'd pondered pumpkin cheesecake, but after realizing not all the guests liked pumpkin I had decided on a plain cheesecake. So I scoured the internet for cheesecake recipes. I looked through my library of food network magazine and searched all my favorite food blogs. After reading about 20 recipes to get an idea of what make a cheesecake I came up with my own. I know, flour isn't normally in cheesecake but I figured it would help it set to make it fool proof (since this was my first attempt).
Then one the cheesecake was complete, I'd decided it was missing something and added blueberry topping. Needless to say, the cheesecake was a hugehit. I was floored at how great it came out, and fell in love with the crust. Next time I make it I plan on making the crust run along the side of the cheesecake as well.
What You'll Need:
Crust:
- 2 cups of crushed graham crackers (I hand crushed them so that there were some decent sized chunks of cracker in the crust rather than powder to add a crunchy texture to the smooth cheesecake)
- 7 Tbsp butter melted
- 1/2 Tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 cup sugar
- Pinch of salt
The Filling:
- 4 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
- 1 1/2 cups white sugar
- 3/4 cup whole milk
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
What You'll Do:
First, the crust!
1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. In a bowl combine graham cracker crumbs, butter, sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
3 Press the mixture along the bottom of a 9 inch springform pan lined along the outside with foil.
4. Bake in oven for approximately 10 minutes, remove and set aside.
The filling:
5. In a large bowl, mix cream cheese with sugar until smooth.
6. Mix in milk, and then the eggs one at a time, mixing just enough to incorporate.
7. Mix in sour cream, vanilla and flour until smooth (but don't overbeat!).
8. Pour filling into prepared crust.
9. Place the pan into a water bath. That is, place the pie pan into a roasting pan, then slowly add boiling water into the roasting pan until just below the edge of the foil line (about halfway up the pie pan).
10. Bake in oven for 1 hour.
11. When timer beeps, turn oven off but do not open the oven.
12. Let the cheesecake slowly cool in the oven for about 6 hours (this helps it set and helps prevent cracking caused by rapid cooling).
13. Chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.
14. Add blueberry topping just before serving (optional, see below).
Blueberry Topping:
- 1 can of blueberry pie filling
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
1. Add blueberries to pot and add cinnamon. Simmer approximately 5 to 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Let cool.
3. Spread on top of cheesecake prior to releasing from springform pan.
Enjoy!
